Lonely Paper Flowers
by Hoshiguma-douji
Summary: (PatchuMei) Meiling visits Patchouli in the library with platonic intentions, but the librarian has other plans...T for now.


"Do you have a death wish?"

I look away from her gaze and inspect my tea. There's something in the intensity of Patchouli's glare that makes my skin crawl. It's so similar to the looks of pure hatred and envy I see written on Sakuya's face on a daily basis that I begin to wonder about my mistress' choices in companions. The two of them drain the energy from a room with those eyes, and it can't be healthy for a vampire to be constantly around such cold people.

Patchouli taps her fingers at me, and I look up. "Not consciously," I reply quickly, just so she knows I'm listening.

"Then why," she muses, "are you away from the gate every time I see you? You know Sakuya-san will kill you."

"There's no one out there to talk to!" I blurt out before I can stop myself. And now that I've started, I can't seem to shut up. "It's so lonely and so boring, sitting outside by myself. And I want some company, and the only people I usually see are Sakuya and Marisa, and neither of them want to talk, but I have so much to say..."

Patchouli lifts a finger to silence my ramblings. "Is that why you're here, bringing me tea I did not request?" A Mona Lisa smirk is painted on her lips.

There's no denying my intentions at this point. "Yes," I sigh.

"I'm not good at small talk," Patchouli admits. "It makes me nervous. That being said, I fail to see why you'd seek my company."

I sip my tea and ponder that for a moment, trying to find something intelligent to say. Although I find Patchouli's deadpan stare and silence rather intimidating, it's almost comforting. She and I are so different that I'm rather attracted to her in ways I could never verbalize in front of my mistress or Sakuya.

So I say, "I can't talk to myself all the time. I have to hear different opinions talk back."

Her eyes narrow, and she shuts the book in front of her, leaning her arms over the cover and inching closer to me. "We are night and day, you and I," she replies in the Shanghai dialect of Chinese. "I don't know what we'd discuss."

I shake my head, trying to ignore the tingling feeling that her fluent Chinese gives me. It's been so long since anyone's even tried to speak it. "It doesn't matter if I care what you're talking about. I want to hear what's on your mind."

She hesitates, probably translating in her head. I can see the gears turning in her eyes, the workings of her ingenious mind musing both a foreign language and the concept of social interaction. I couldn't imagine being asocial. I love books as much as the next girl, and sometimes I like to be alone, but I need to be surrounded by people and activity to stay sane.

Then she says, "Please stay out of my head."

"What?" Sometimes, with introverts, I've noticed that they say only a fragment of what their minds are thinking, and I'm not intuitive enough to map out the missing puzzle pieces in the reclusive language.

"You really frustrate me, Hong Meiling." She looks at something behind my head asshe talks, as if she's afraid of eye contact. "I want to hate you like Sakuya-san does, to find you unnecessary and stupid. But I don't." She pauses to clear her throat. "Your lack of inhibition and spacey tendencies are irritating, but you're dedicated, loyal, and sweet. I can't hate a person so kind."

I blush. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

She quirks an eyebrow. "And that's the saddest response I could imagine. I mean...remember the other day, when Remi found a spider and started screaming?"

I laugh, even though it's disrespectful, and feel a twinge of guilt afterward. "Of course!"

"You took it in your hands and carried it outside." She smiles. "That spider was huge. I'm not squeamish or arachnophobic, and I know I wouldn't touch it."

I blink at Patchouli. "So? I don't believe in killing innocent life. Even spiders have souls."

"That's my point!" She almost seems excited; her violet eyes light up when she speaks, but her facial expression remains neutral. "You're globally aware and empathetic. And that's why I love you."

"I'm a dragon," I say. "It's my nature to...wait. You _love_ me?"

"I only say that when it's true," she mutters. Her cheeks turn rather pink. "I know we're different, but..." And our eyes finally meet, violet fixating on dark blue. "I love you anyway."

I feel the tingling grow stronger, romantic attraction mixing with sexual arousal, nostalgia, and the impulse to kiss her. And being that I have poor impulse control, I do just that. I get up from my chair, walk around to face her, and right when she opens her mouth to protest, I capture her lips.

There's a moment of awkwardness as Patchouli decides what to do with her hands, little mumbles of surprise, until she melts completely. She's passionate, probably because she keeps her feelings locked up, but she's also very fragile. In a sweeping motion, I take her in my arms, cradling her as I steal her chair.

She breaks the kiss and studies me for a moment. "Are you really a dragon?"

I nod. "Remilia and I made a pact centuries ago, saying that I'd protect her family. As long as the seals of protection I've put on them work and as long as I live, they shall be safe."

"Gatekeeping is a cover job, then," Patchouli decides.

I nod. "We like to keep it under the radar."

She plays with my hair for a moment, completely in her own little mental world. To pass the time, I focus on her flow of qi, memorizing the currents and pulses. Since she's a magician, her qi is more difficult to read; unlike us dragons, magicians are very inhibited and have immense self-control, giving them the ability to repress or increase their qi when necessary. But too much regulation can be damaging to one's physical health, and Patchouli is an excellent example of this.

"I love you, too," I say in her own original language-English.

"That was delayed," she replies in the same language.

This time, she initiates the kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck and opening herself up a little more. The rhythm of her qi increases in tempo as I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue along her lips before she opens her mouth and allows access inside. She shivers as our tongues meet and my hands wander down her breasts.

The she pulls away. "Not now," she says. "Come back tonight and we can...maybe."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "So you _do_ want to do something?"

She nods. "But I do have to get back to my research. And you should get back to the gate. Sakuya doesn't know about...what you are...does she?"

"No," I say, "which is why I'm her favorite pincushion."

Patchouli finds this funny, only I don't understand why. When she notices that I'm not laughing, she stops and coughs. "Well...I'll see you tonight. You'll come back, won't you?"

I set her back down on her chair and bow. "You have my word..."


End file.
